Wisconsin: trucking data for small carriers

What this means for a small carrier

Roadside inspections in Wisconsin ended with a truck or driver out of service 24.9% of the time in 2025, 6.4 points above the national figure. Enforcement is targeted, so this reflects where and whom inspectors stop as well as truck condition. Diesel in the PADD 2 Midwest region averaged $6.286 a gallon in the week of Oct 5, 2026, 9 cents above the U.S. average of $6.199. That is a regional average, not the price at your stop. The most frequent recorded hazard is wind, hail and tornado, about 46 event-days a year, peaking in July. 6.7% of Wisconsin bridges are rated poor (6.6% nationally); 810 are posted or restricted. A poor rating is not a closure, and a posting may not apply to your weight, but check the route before you commit to it.

For a small carrier this is a planning checklist, not a verdict. Put the state-specific cost drivers into your own numbers: the fuel price you actually pay, the days of the year weather is most likely to slow you, and whether the routes you run cross posted bridges. Then price the lane on your cost per mile, not on a national average.

The measures where Wisconsin sits furthest from the middle of the 51 are, by rank: 4 of 51 for vehicle out-of-service share; 7 of 51 for inspections ending with an out-of-service order; 9 of 51 for active carriers. Rank 1 means the highest value, not the best, and counts follow the size of the state, so read shares before counts.